Building 134
P.O. Box 5000
Upton, NY 11973-5000
phone 631 344-2345
fax 631 344-3368
www.bnl.gov

managed for the U.S. Department of Energy
by Brookhaven Science Associates, a company
founded by Stony Brook University and Battelle

Media Advisory

Number: 03-29
Released: April 23, 2003
Contact: Diane Greenberg, 631 344-2347 or Mona S. Rowe, 631 344-5056

Middle School Magnetic Levitation (Maglev) Contest To be Held at Brookhaven Lab, April 30

EVENT: Six categories of model Maglev vehicles built by Long Island middle school students will be tested for speed, efficiency and appearance at the Thirteenth Annual Middle School Magnetic Levitation Contest. Maglev, the suspension, guidance and propulsion of vehicles by magnetic forces, was invented and patented in 1968 by Brookhaven National Laboratory scientists Gordon Danby and James Powell.

Media are invited to the contest. The event is closed to the general public because of space limitations. All visitors age 16 and older must bring a photo ID to be allowed on site.

WHEN: 8:30 to 11:30 a.m., Wednesday, April 30

WHERE: Brookhaven Center, Brookhaven National Laboratory. The Lab is located on William Floyd Parkway (County Road 46), one-and-a-half miles north of Exit 68 of the Long Island Expressway.

DETAILS: Over 150 middle school technology students from Nassau and Suffolk Counties have entered the 2003 contest. (A list of participating schools is attached.) Hosted by the Laboratory, the contest is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory, Hofstra University Center for Technology Education, the Long Island Technology Association, the Nassau Technology Association, and the Suffolk Technology Education Association.

Maglev may one day solve today’s traffic congestion problems. Maglev vehicles float over a fixed track, supported and driven by magnetic fields. While barely leaving the ground, a Maglev vehicle may go as fast as an airplane. Students were required to design and construct model Maglev vehicles according to engineering specifications. Students recorded their design process in “design briefs,” which also count in the judging process. Scores of handmade vehicles zooming down Maglev tracks, cheered on by dozens of students, will provide excellent visuals.

Schools Entered in Middle School Maglev Contest

Albert G. Prodell Middle School, Shoreham
Berner Middle School, Massapequa
Center Moriches High School
Great Neck South Middle School
Hicksville Middle School
Islip Middle School
Robert Moses Middle School, North Babylon
Roslyn Middle School
Smithown Middle School
South Ocean Avenue Middle School, Patchogue
Woodmere Middle School, Hewlett

The U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory conducts research in the physical, biomedical, and environmental sciences, as well as in energy technologies. Brookhaven also builds and operates major facilities available to university, industrial, and government scientists. The Laboratory is managed by Brookhaven Science Associates, a limited liability company founded by Stony Brook University and Battelle, a nonprofit applied science and technology organization.